(Part 1) We can now add two more halachic sources for the idea that the Jewish home is considered a sanctuary, especially when it hosts the consumption of the Passover offering. Z’vahim 97b: Rava said, a positive commandment does not override a negative commandment in the Temple. Normally, a positive commandment of the Torah does … Continue reading
It seems that this year I have heard of more Halachic misconceptions among people I know personally than is usual before Passover. I do not imagine that these misconceptions are new, just that they have now become possessed by people I know. But as we know, with regards to Passover, “halacha k’divrei hamahmir, the law … Continue reading
Question: At what time of the year is it proper and appropriate for us to pray that we have a decent government? On Rosh Hodesh Nisan, which is the New Year’s day for Jewish kings? Answer: According to our sages, three times a day on weekdays, and that’s the message of some of the blessings … Continue reading
“A home becomes transformed when the walls display the likeness of the Rambam or the Vilna Gaon or the other righteous great.” – Rabbi Avigdor Miller (Continued from here.) Three halachoth that we saw in the past week shed light on an approach to Torah study and the halachic process which has been gained popularity … Continue reading
You can find my new podcast here: anchor.fm/rabbiavigrossman or on find it on Spotify or PocketCast. This is the first episode: https://anchor.fm/rabbiavigrossman/embed/episodes/Rabbi-Avi-Grossmans-New-Haggadah—Featuring-Asher-Borrows-e3cnvk/a-abatc4 Listen in on the conversation as Asher Borrows picks my brain about my new Haggadah.
Dear ****, As you know, a zaqein mamrei is a scholar who specifically rules against the ruling of the Sanhedrin, and is deserving of death for his sin. Therefore, I would be a little more reserved when considering if to describe a modern-day rav as a zaqein mamrei for “denying the authority of the Babylonian … Continue reading
בכמה מקומות בש׳׳ס הובא חידוש הפסוק לא תוכל לזבוח את הפסח באחד שעריך. ומביאים ברייתא בשם רבי שמעון, ונביא הגרסא המלאה ממס׳ זבחים: כדתניא רבי שמעון אומר מנין לזובח פסח בבמת יחיד בשעת איסור הבמות שהוא בלא תעשה? ת”ל לא תוכל לזבוח את הפסח. יכול אף בשעת היתר הבמות כן? ת”ל באחד שעריך. לא אמרתי … Continue reading
Many of us who grew up in America are familiar with the amusing (non-)holiday of Groundhog Day, but we are unfamiliar with its Christian forebear, Candlemas, of which an incidental observance of the day in Northern Europe involved divining the weather by watching the behaviors of similar animals, like badgers, and which, like other Christian … Continue reading
The book of Exodus, like the rest of the Pentateuch, has a discernible structure, consisting of a number of intersecting chiasms, recurring themes, and heavy use of symbolism, all of which I have written about in the past. One of the more subtle themes of the book is the development of the character of Moses. … Continue reading
במסכת זבחים צ׳׳ז ע׳׳ב איתא אין עשה דוחה את לא תעשה שבמקדש, שנאמר ועצם לא תשברו בו. פירוש, מי שחייב לאכול מן הפסח, ולא נשאר לו כזית בשר ממנו חוץ מן המוח שיש בעצמות, אלא שיעבור על לאו דעצם לא תשברו, הוה אמינא יבא עשה דואכלו את הבשר וידחה לא תעשה דעצם לא תשברו. קמ׳׳ל … Continue reading
